The Broken Truth
by xsnaremanx
Summary: Jate AU. Jack Shephard is offered a job outside of Portland as a doctor. When he arrives, he's on an island where people aren't who they seem to be. Jack must figure out who's on his side, how to cope with secrets, and save the woman he falls in love with
1. Chapter 1

**Preface**

This is what's called an AU story. AU stands for 'Alternate Universe'. This means it is a different possible outcome or story that could happen. It is not real. It uses the show's information to create a story of their own. For example; an AU story might be one of Kate dying after running away from the Others and Jack tries to get over her death. The character's personalities are the same. Their motives are the same. Their stories are the same. But the situations they're in or plot they're involved with can change.

This story is not possible since it's AU, but it is meant to entertain. Enjoy reading it!

**Summary of the AU**

Jack Shephard is unhappy with his life. He's a doctor who creates miracles but feels he should do something more. He is approached by someone who feels he can do better and much good at a new medical facility outside of Portland. Jack agrees to go and soon finds himself on an island, expected to save people who die of strange diseases. That's when he meets Kate Austen, a human used for the Other's research. The rest- you'll just have to read. :)

**Chapter One**

"Dr. Jack Shephard, please come to the nurses' desk, Dr. Jack- Shephard," a mature woman's voice called through the intercom of a white, sanitary hospital. Hearing his name and where to go, the man named Jack rounded a corner and walked swiftly down the length of the hall, keeping his hazel eyes focused ahead. He was tall, about the height of 6'2", and it was obvious to any patient or co-worker he was in his mid 30's, 37 to be exact. Most people would consider him handsome, with his clean cut features and stubby brown hair. Being in good shape also added to his list of quality features. As Jack became closer to the counter where he was called to, he raised a hand to itch his nose, which had a slight bump on it from his Irish heritage. Jack grew up with freckles, but they disappeared after years, along with his desire in most things little boys liked. Being a pilot was one of them. But Jack moved on from his young childlike dreams and became something real. A doctor. The follower in his father's footsteps.

Jack finally reached the nurses' desk and tapped once on the counter, peeking over to see three pairs of eyes staring at him. "You didn't get our message we sent you?" a strong-willed black person stated, moving her head in disbelief. Jack smiled from her motion and nodded while he said in his strong yet rusty voice, "I did, I've just been busy." His attention was soon turned to another nurse, who had long red hair and was holding a starbucks drink close to her mouth. "A man is in your office, waiting." Jack sighed and glanced over at his office door, which was open and with the light on. It was so early he hadn't even been able to go in yet, Jack was checking up on patients since he got into work. "He can wait," Jack muttered, hearing another ring of beeps come from his pager. "No, he can't," the third nurse said, who was large and in her fifties, the woman who called him over the speaker, "he said it's really important." Jack reached down and held up the pager that was going off in his hand, pressing the button to make it stop ringing. "Don't worry," the nurse continued, "I've got the new chief on your calls. He could use the experience." Jack bit his lip at the mention of the new chief of surgery taking over his calls. Turning his head back over in the direction of his office, Jack took in a deep breath and walked over.

Poking his head in, Jack cleared his throat to let the man who was in there know Jack had arrived. A man about Jack's age rotated around with a grin plastered on his face and welcoming eyes. He quickly stuck out his hand for Jack to shake, so Jack stepped forward and introduced himself, "Jack Shephard," Jack mentioned with a small nod after shaking the man's hand. "Richard Alpert," said the man in a suit, making Jack look silly in his blue scrubs and white jacket. Mr. Alpert took a gaze around the room with awe, marvelling at all the medical books that filled the room. "You have a nice collection, Dr. Shephard," Richard said while watching Jack take a seat behind his desk, with Jack looking at most of them as well. "Well, they're not mostly mine. A lot of them belong to my father," Jack mentioned, motioning for the man to take a seat in front of him. As Richard sat down, he suddenly frowned and became gravely serious, "I heard what happened, I'm sorry about your loss."

Jack nodded respectfully and bit his lip, staring ahead at a picture of his father and him when he was a boy. Clearing his throat yet again, Jack leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, "Um, I'm sorry, but, I'm not quite sure why you're here to see me." Jack wasn't positive who this Richard Alpert person was. Was he an old friend of his fathers? Was he involved with his father's funeral? And Jack was trying to seem polite, trying to seem nice, but his curiosity got the best of him. The man nodded as if he knew Jack was going to say that. "I'm a representative of a small medical facility called Dharma. I was sent here to- well, I was sent here to try and convince you to come help us."

Jack's head shifted to the side, a little surprised the man only added to his confusion instead of helping. "I'm sorry, you want me to what, donate money, suggest doctors?" Jack shook his head from being so puzzled. The man gently tightened his lips and said, "Oh no, we came for you."

Jack continued to stare, blinking as if he didn't know what he was talking about. Richard shifted his weight in the seat and decided to explain. "We're sort of brand new, actually, just getting our feet wet with all this heavy duty medical stuff and we could use someone like you, we really could."

Frowning while raising an eyebrow, Jack repeated him, "Someone like me?" Richard sighed, getting that Jack just didn't get the picture. Richard leaned forward across the desk, looking Jack straight in the eye. In a softer but more real tone, Richard said, "We need someone like you, Jack... Did you forget what you did to Sarah, how you i fixed /i her? It was a miracle!" Jack shook his head, looking away like he didn't want to hear about his ex-wife, the woman he somehow made better so that she could walk again. "What about him, your father?" Jack turned to look at him with a certain angry look, but it looked more painful than distraught. Richard continued, "You saved him when you went down to Sydney, remember? You caught him right before he could have died from a heart attack, who has timing like that?" Jack stopped the man with his hand in the air towards him, motioning to stop, "It didn't matter," Jack said, "my dad died months later from the same thing that could have killed him."

Jack felt like braking down. It had been two weeks since his father's passing. And his relationship with his father was nothing to brag about either. Jack's father was locked up in home, kept from running away anymore. He somehow got a hold of Jack's liquor in Jack's room and drank it all, causing his heart to fail and pass away. And of course, Jack blamed himself, but no one knew it was Jack's alcohol that killed his father. No one even knew Jack was living with his parents at the time. The divorce from his ex-wife was so rough that Jack lived with his parents, trying to get back on track.

Richard nodded, looking down. After a moment of silence, Richard spoke again with a gentle voice, catching Jack's ear. "Where we are, we have a situation. We have a problem we need to fix. Only a doctor, with as much skill and experience as you, can help us."

Jack crossed his arms and asked with an annoyed tone, "What's the problem?" Richard shook his head quickly and said, "I can't say, it's confidential. Only people who work there can know what's going on. It's very- promising." Jack raised his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. "Promising..." Jack repeated.

Feeling as if he should throw more out, Richard listed, "And don't get me wrong, having someone like you there would benefit us so greatly. We have such young talent and hope, it's unbelievable. We'd even let you live in your own house and have all access to our stations. I do have to say, we do things a lot differently where I come from, but it's for the best. And we need the best to come be with it; like you."

Jack bit his lip lightly, staring at Richard before gazing at the sea of books around him. One question popped in his head, "Where is this place?" Jack snapped back into reality, listening to Richard say with a simple smile, "Just outside of Portland."

Sinking in his chair, Jack slumped to weigh out his options. He had a job already, a nice one too. But that was about all he had. He had no friends, or his friends hated him for one reason or another. Jack's father was dead, much to his relief but the pain still stuck around with him. Jack had no where to live, except at his mother's, who was also mad at Jack for causing his father's death. Jack was stuck in a corner.

Jack slowly sat up, staring at the man before him. As the glare continued, Jack uncrossed his arms and said, "When can I start?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It was a cold, winterly day in LA, believe it or not. It was in January of the new year, 2005. Nervous feelings swarmed Jack as he parked his car in the parking lot of a small airport. The last time he was on a plane, it almost crashed. After finding his father in September in Sydney, the two boarded Oceanic Flight 815. Halfway through the flight, the pilot admitted he was turning around, heading back to Figi. On the way, there was some flying problems, but the pilot regained control much to everyone's relief. When the plane finally landed, it was clear the tail was about the snap off.

But it didn't crash, it landed safely in Figi, to combine another flight back to LAX. Jack remembered some of the people on the plane, like a man named Hurley who was overweight and said 'dude' too often. Jack and Hurley started talking, and Hurley said he had won the lottery once, but never got the cash- because he was too afraid it would ruin his life. Jack had a hunch not to believe what Hurley said. And there were other people too that caught his attention: there was a young couple, a long blonde haired woman and brown haired man carrying a young baby, obviously slightly premature. Then there was a Marshall on the plane, who didn't lay his eyes off of one person: a tall and grungy looking man, with straight blonde hair. He had a bad-ass look to him and a smirk every time the Marshall pushed him around.

All of that seemed so long ago, because Jack had moved on. He lived with his parents and kept his dad locked in his room so he couldn't escape and take off again. Jack was even considering putting his father in a nursing home. But it was too late. Before Christmas, his father drank himself to death with Jack's own alcohol. Jack could never forgive himself, yet never thank himself any more. His father was gone. The pressure was gone. Jack's life would have been better, right?

Jack thought so too, but soon realized his life was going no where but downhill. That was, until one day, a man named Richard Alpert came in to talk to him. Richard told Jack of a new place, a new job. One where people worked differently and Jack would have access to everything. A job that could somehow help mankind in the future, as Richard put it. Jack was interested, and decided to give it a try. As he started filling out paperwork, Jack noticed he was signing a lot of things to keep quiet and never talk to anyone outside of the town for months; the months he would stay there.

Pushing all of the thoughts rushing into his mind out, Jack stepped out of his car and closed his door, locking it with the click of a button. Walking over to the front, Jack saw Richard was waiting for him. He had seen Richard several times before to plan for the trip, making sure Jack was keeping quiet and physically prepared to work there. Richard waved hello and then greeted him, saying, "Jack! How are you? Ready to make the best decision of your life?"

Jack showed a friendly smile and shrugged, "I hope I already did." The two laughed lightly before Richard held a door open, motioning for Jack to go inside. "So, we've signed all the paperwork, know the basic plan and all we have left to do, is take off," Richard said as he led Jack through the empty and erie aiport. Jack turned back his head to glance at everything. Why was it empty? Why were there no planes?

Richard noticed his confusion and said with a calm and explaining voice, "We recently bought this place and are trying to expand more. We're trying to get more doctors and scientists like you, but it's hard when we're somewhere so- secluded."

Turning his head to the side for a second, Jack wondered what he meant by that. Getting the feeling they were almost at the end, Jack asked with squinted eyes, "What do you mean: secluded?"

Pushing his lips together as if he shouldn't have said something, Richard pointed to the window at the end of the hall. Jack only became more confused, but he stepped forward to glance out. All he saw was water and a dock. Jack opened his mouth to say something but Richard beat him to it, mentioning, "We're using a submarine to get there. It's the safest way."

Jack widened his eyes and then shook his head with the angst feeling of being puzzled. "I thought we were going to Portland." Jack suddenly looked to Richard, who's face seemed to never show extremes of emotion and always have a steady, strong look. Richard sighed and glanced away slightly before looking at Jack with a serious face, "Well, we're not _exactly_ near Portland..."

Instead of laughing like it was a joke, Jack looked at Richard with a serious expression, angry even. "What do you mea-" Jack started to say before he was interrupted. "Jack, I can tell you, you'll be safe. I just can't tell you where we're going, which is why..." Richard paused and opened the side of his jacket, pulling out a small packet, "we want to have this. The ride is sort of hard on the first timers and if you slept the whole way, you'd be feeling well enough right to go into work."

Jack reached forward and snatched the packet out of Richard's hands, reading the label and then shaking his head. "You want to drug me?!"

Sighing, Richard remained calm and gently reminded Jack why he was there, why his people needed him. It took minutes of convincing, but Jack eventually caved in. Once Jack took the powder that would knock him out, Jack remembered blacking out.

Before he knew it, Jack was waking up with a dark red light around him. Scrambling to move, Jack realized he was strapped down and he couldn't speak. Jack let his head go back, sighing because he felt horrible. What was going on?

Soon a man appeared out of no where, "Hello, we're here. I'm Ethan, your new partner." The man smiled and had a kind look to him while he reached over and unstrapped Jack so he could be free. Jack looked at Ethan in a strange way, not knowing what was going on at all. Ethan nodded understandingly and said, "First time here? The drugs will wear off soon so you can speak... It'll take a while to get used to being here. It's like nothing you've ever seen before." Ethan grinned, almost like he was excited.

Jack showed a grave look while he sat up, not knowing what to do. Ethan picked up a bag of his and waved good bye, "I'll see ya later, Jack. We have a lot of good work to do." Jack continued to stare at Ethan while he walked out. How did he know his name? Jack rolled his eyes into the back of his head, rubbing his forehead while he tried to catch up to date. He slowly slid off the cot he was laying on and stepped on metal floor. The sub...

Finally, he was getting back to normal, realizing where he was, in the submarine; here in the place he'd be for the next few months 'helping humanity'. Jack looked to his left and then the right, noticing very rare and odd looking buttons. Before he could read or inspect them, a man made a grunt noise and then caught his attention. Jack looked up to see a man with a slight beard. Standing up straight, Jack stared at the man, wondering if the man would yell or even speak to him. Suddenly, the man said, "You can get out right there... Just climb."

Jack turned to see a ladder. A little guilty of being nosey, Jack failed to thank the man or glance back at him. Instead, Jack waked forward, grabbing both sides of the ladder and stepping up. Soon he could hear birds, smell sea water and see a clear blue sky up above him. Jack soon surfaced and was stunned to see a tropical scene around him. Only having seconds to look over at the trees and brush, a man with bug eyes broke the peaceful silence by saying something. "Dr. Shephard! Boy, are we glad to see you!"

Standing up once he got out, Jack was starting to get annoyed with everyone knowing who he was. The man wore a peach colored shirt and the wind made ripples in his clothes as he stood on a dock that led into what seemed like the island. "My name is Benjamin Linus, and I am glad you are going to be working for me."

Hours later, Jack was seated in what seemed like a city hall, empty and wide with windows. It was odd, because he i was /i on an island. But there was a town, a small village in the center of it, it seemed. Within the past hours, Jack was showed around. He saw the courtyard that laid in between houses that real people lived in. It was almost like a community. There were only adults in the small town, from what Jack could see. Ben, who introduced himself as the leader of the group of people, explained that he was born there and over time, they created a village there. Some people came to work and then stayed, never wanting to go home. Some people, Ben said, were destined to stay there, not being allowed to leave.

There were times when Jack thought that the whole idea of a group of people living on a random island was not very wise, but Ben assured that it was. The only problem was, there was a mysterious sickness showing up. It started as a fever, but it soon went away. However, that virus would cause other problems. One of which had to deal with the spine. That's why they came to Jack. Ben only briefly described it, but Jack's impression was that the fever or virus somehow eventually attacked people's spines, either with a tumor or shutting down the spinal cord down all together- which led to death if untreatable. And from what Ben said, their 'advances' weren't high tech enough to save the people who became paralyzed, which meant they'd die.

As Jack heard doors behind him open, he began to see people flood the room, taking seats as if they were going to a meeting or speech of some sort. Most of them noticed Jack, who was new, and they started whispering and spreading gossip. Jack was seated at the front, where Ben told him to wait while people came in. Eventually, the room was full and Ben quieted people down by stepping on the small stage before them.

"Ahem, is this on?" Ben asked into the speaker and then let out a sigh with a smile, "Hello, everyone. I'm sure you must be wondering why I called this meeting, but I must say, it's very important." Ben widened his eyes, scanning the room. There must had been at least 50 people in all. Ben was proud that he could have such a place, such a small clan enough to run on his own. Hopefully things would stay for the better, hopefully things would stay under control.

"As some you may know, the submarine came back from its trip today. The people who left are now back with us, safe and out of harm. But- we have a new resident for the time being, and his name is Jack, Jack Shephard."

Jack felt his face blush when he could feel everyone's eyes staring at him, either welcoming or like that guy in the sub- glaring. "Jack," Ben said in a demanding voice even, "would you mind coming up here?"

Sitting up, Jack was wondering what to do, so he stood and slowly stepped over to the stage and walked up, stopping right next to Ben. Ben smiled and then gleamed over at the rest of his people, "This man, is who we've been waiting for, this man, it going to save us. He's going to fix our problem."

Ben motioned for Jack to take the floor as people began applauding Jack. Whispering to just introduce himself, Ben then stepped off and stood at the side, watching as Jack stood in front of the community of people. Grunting into the mike, Jack let out a small laugh and then looked at the sea of people in front of him. Soon it became quiet; dead quiet. He was feeling odd since he was getting nervous only over a few dozen people. "Hi, I'm- I'm Jack. I'm a spinal surgeon from Los Angeles... I- I hope to help you guys, in some way." Jack stopped speaking, feeling as if the crowd hated him. He briefly looked over the faces, seeing only a few people who were older than their fifties. The youngest seemed to be in their teens, watching him with steady eyes. Was there something he forgot to say?

Jack smiled lightly and then stepped back, suddenly being swarmed with the sound of clapping and hollering. Out of no where these people were excited about him being here?

Ben clapped as well while he nudged in front of Jack, saying that dinner would be in the common area as a group to eat for the night. People already started going out and Ben smiled to look back at Jack, his bug eyes staring up at Jack. "Feel free to get to know people, Jack. I'd suggest that you do."

Later on, Jack was looking up at a large gazebo with lights and food displayed underneath. Dinner. Great, now people would turn bi-polar on him all night, Jack couldn't wait. By the time he grabbed some food and took a seat at a large table, his nerves were already gone. People came up to him, very friendly and even acted like they all knew him for years. Jack got countless pats on the backs from guys and quick embraces from women. Getting no hard or pushy questions, Jack was actually having a good time.

But Jack was feeling a little crowded, so he excused himself from the table and group of people greeting him. Jack walked off the gazebo and common area, rounding around by going near the side of a house. He didn't know where he was going, mainly cause it was night time. After a few minutes of standing around in silence, Jack sighed and then turned to go back; only, he didn't know where to go.

Jack stumbled through a few feet of brush, making sound and grunting while he trekked through. As he came out, Jack was shocked to see someone right in front of him, a woman. She was stopped, obviously distracted from what Jack was doing. She had a curious look on her face and seemed to be staring at Jack's awkward position. Straightening up, Jack was a little confused. He was no where near the party. So far he couldn't even hear it. The fact that it was dark and the woman was alone, Jack wondered if she was doing the same thing he was doing, just 'getting away'.

About to say something, Jack fully stepped out of the brush, tugging on his suit that he was wearing so it wasn't neat looking. But the woman said something first, in a soothing voice that seemed to ask a question she knew the answer to, "Lost?"

Jack let out a small chuckle, looking at the ground and then taking in a deep breath while he nodded slightly. The woman couldn't help but laugh mildly at the way he admitted it. She raised a hand to her face and tucked a long strand of curly brown hair behind her ear. Jack could feel her eyes on him, even though it was night time. He could tell she was staring him down, almost like every other person on the island. But something about her was different, instead of being obvious about watching him, she was more secretive about what she was observing.

To get her eyes back up on him, Jack asked, "You going back to the party?"

The woman fluttered back up to his attention and continued to stare with a emotionless face that seemed to look right through with him. Replying to his question, the woman turned her head to the side and shook it, "Nah- I'm- doing something else at the moment."

Since the woman seemed sad to say that, Jack said with a small laugh, "I wish I was too." Hearing that, the woman also caught herself laughing, showing a gentle smile that caused Jack's face to turn red.

The two stood in silence while they both let their smiles fade to nothing. Soon the woman tilted her head and asked in a questioning voice, "Are you the doctor?"

Jack bit his lip and then quickly answered with a yes, wondering why she didn't really know. "Were you not at the meeting?"

To answer his rightful question, the woman shook her head again, showing an embarrassed half smile, "I don't really do social things around here. Not what I do."

Jack didn't take her words seriously but played along, raising his eyebrows and subtly tucking his hands into his pockets, "Then what i do /i you do?"

The woman grinned, like she knew something Jack didn't. "Well, I don't know if I could explain, it's a little- hard to grasp."

Not able to hide a flirting smirk, Jack bit his bottom lip lightly before saying, "Try me."

Glancing down, obviously blushing, the woman soon nodded, ready to explain what her words meant. But braking their conversation, Ben's voice could be heard to their far left. "Jack?"

Both Jack and the woman looked over, almost sharing a moment of disappointment. The two of them knew Ben had barged in on them, but there wasn't anything they could do about it.

"Um, I should go," the woman said, turning away from where Ben was coming from and quickly walking away, leaving Jack by himself.

As Ben came over with a curious look, Jack stood still, watching Ben stop in front of him. "Where have you been, people have been asking for you?"

Jack sighed and then shrugged, "I needed a brake."

Ben nodded his head and then said, "So do I, all the time." Ben then started to lead Jack back to the party.

Not able to put the thought of meeting that woman out of his mind, Jack decided to ask, "Did you see that woman I was talking to?"

Staring ahead as if he didn't hear him, Ben quietly admitted, "Yes," in a deep and dark tone. Jack seemed to ignore it, because he was too busy realizing that his conversation with her was just as real as anyone else's. People on the island were too concerned about asking who he was and who _they_ were, but with the woman he just met, they had an actual conversation- before it was interrupted.

"Do you know who she is?" Jack asked once the party started going into view.

Ben raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Jack. Almost in a disgusted voice, Ben said, " _Her_?" Ben shook his head and said in a mysterious voice that creeped Jack out, "Oh, don't worry, she's _no one_. "

Jack was about to ask what he meant, why he said no one, but he was soon bombarded with another list of people, asking more information out of him.

When the night ended, Jack was showed his new house. He was advised there were cameras in certain rooms and that he shouldn't try and escape, because it wasn't safe with 'wild animals' running around in the jungle near by. Jack listened to why he told to do and stayed inside, peeking out his window while he watched the rest of the town slowly settle down. Doors closed, lights shut off and soon all that could be heard were the crickets and insects buzzing around outside. Jack laid down in bed and closed his eyes. What the heck did he get himself into?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A week had passed since Jack first arrived on the un-named island. Questions were still unanswered. Where in the middle of the ocean were they? Why this island? What was so strange about the whole idea of things? Something was missing. Or something was too much. Regardless, the society there was wrong, fake almost somehow. They had no crime, because if they did, the person accused would be sent away forever or at worst, executed for a simple crime. People never fought, people never got married.

The second day Jack spent on the island he was put to work. Ben re-introduced Jack to Ethan, who was busy away under some special facility just outside of the town. There were only two rooms being used: one large area was used for creating medicine and vaccines and the other was Ethan's measly office. None seemed impressive at all. Of course, it was Ethan who had the smarts in creating all the immunity boosters and disease preventers. Ben and Ethan told Jack what he was there for. Jack was there to figure out what was exactly wrong with the disease. What it was. Why it attacked the spinal cord and simultaneously created tumors out of thin air. There was no such disease in the book, so an expert on the spine was about as close as they could get. Upon asking how he would figure out just by what they were saying, Ethan nodded assuringly that there were hands on experiments so Jack could create his best guess.

Days passed on from that one, making his days finally starting to settle in. He worked in Ethan's office all day while Ethan was in the other room, creating a new vaccine. Jack was poured with pages of calculations that Ethan had made and small tid-bits of the disease that seemed unreal. From Ethan's writing, it said that 7 out of 8 people would get paralysis, starting at the base of the spine. In the course of a day or two, the numbness would spread upward. While the individual would become a quadriplegic, there was nothing to do to reverse the paralyzing disease. And if it couldn't be stopped, then the damage would spread up into the brain and that would mean no function to anywhere in the body; resulting in death. The disease hit Jack hard, only because he would be under extreme pressure as always to figure out what was going on. The eighth person, who didn't get paralysis, would instead get a benign tumor that would hopefully be removed by a professional; Jack. So it seemed, Jack had a job either way. To fix what was wrong.

Being at the island seven days was actually a nice trademark for Jack. He was eating a grilled cheese sandwich at Ethan's desk when three people came in, Ben, Tom and Pickett. Tom and Pickett were the protectors, guarding people around and running errands. Tom was fond of Jack, and Jack was too. But Picket, the man who confronted him in the submarine, hated everyone- and always seemed to be glaring or scorning at Jack's moves. Jack was a newcomer, and Pickett didn't trust him. "Hello, Jack," Ben said in his slow voice with a slight smile on his face. Jack nodded as a greeting

"Ethan? Do you think he's ready?" Ben called out into the other room, with Ethan coming out with a plastered smile on his face. "I hope so, because I am," Ethan mentioned with an excited look."I finished the vaccine last night."

Everyone smiled at his words, especially Jack. If he found a vaccine, then maybe Jack wouldn't even need a job. "Come on, Jack, let me show you something," Ethan said as he motioned Jack to come follow him down a hallway. Ethan was exuberant, but Jack could tell he was shaking slightly- maybe from working all night on the vaccine.

At the end of the small hall, there was a door Jack didn't even know about, didn't even notice. Ethan was about to go in, but stopped, looking at Jack with a suddenly serious expression. "Now Jack, you have to know not to tell _anyone_ about this room, what goes on it, and so on. This room is _top_ secret. Only me, Ben, Tom and Picket know about this room."

Jack frowned and asked, "What's in it?"

Ethan raised his eyebrows and said, "You'll see. But you have to know, that this is for best of our people, everything we do is for the better."

Nodding his head in slight confusion, Ethan sighed and then opened the door, sneaking inside to a darkly lit room. Flipping on the lights, Jack could see the main room alone was probably the size of Ethan's two workplaces combined. Jack could see a door on either side of the room. There were couches and coffee tables, along with some other living room type furniture. It looked like a waiting room. But a waiting room for what?

Ethan clicked a switch, lighting another room right in front of the waiting room. There was a window between the two rooms, but it was obviously a one sided mirror from that side. Jack could look in, but they couldn't look out. In the middle of the room ahead of him, there was a prominent metal object. Jack squinted his eyes, wondering why it looked familiar, why it looked so-

Jack immediately gulped. It was exactly like something from a superhero movie, where someone gets strapped inside so they can't thrash around or move. It was a human restraint.

Jack turned around, glaring at Ethan. "What the hell is this?!" Jack asked, obviously angry at what he saw. He wanted Ethan to tell him it wasn't true, that they used such things. Ethan just opened his mouth like he had and excuse or he had something to come back with.

"Jack, I know it's hard to grasp, but you have to understand!" Ethan said back calmly, only making Jack angrier.

"I have to understand that you torture people?!" Jack retaliated back, almost getting in Ethan's face.

Ethan remained relaxed, however, and shook his head. "We don't torture people. See, this virus that's attacking us, it only affects humans. Believe me, I've tried everything else. Mice, rabbits, boar, even polar bears. Nothing works. It's only a human virus. So, we use humans as-"

"Your trash!" Jack yelled, raising a hand to his head while he paced around the room.

Ethan's eyes fell to ground, but he continued to speak, "they're our guide, Jack. Without them, we'd be way in over our heads. Our whole town could be dead by now. These people are here to save us." Ethan sighed and then looked up at Jack, who was still angry but at least calmed down. "We're left with no other choice."

Those last words echoed through Jack's mind, almost imagining his dead father saying the same thing. "I'm not going to hurt them," Jack said rather quietly, but demanding none the less. Ethan nodded and said, "Don't worry, you don't have to do anything. You'll just observe today."

Jack stood near the window and looked into the other room, finally settling down. "Why do you even need that thing?" Jack asked, not turning his head to look at Ethan. Ethan gently said, "The vaccine is a little hard to get used to. It's actually quite painful. We need them to stay still while it goes through..."

Ethan didn't really feel comfortable talking about anything else, so he yelled out over towards one of the sides of the room, "Bring 'em in, Tom!"

A door opened in the room in front of Jack, and Tom walked in with a messed up scowl on his face. Apparently it hurt him just as much to be involved with anything so- unhumane.

The first person to walk in behind Tom was a tall, muscular black man. He was dressed in white clothing and hand cuffed in the front. The second person to come out was a female, also handcuffed, Jack could tell from the body figure. But as the woman walked across the room with the two other men, Jack was hit with a cold realization. It was the woman he met at the party.

With the light shining down on her, now Jack could see all of her. She was hauntingly pretty, with a distant and cold look about her that intrigued Jack. She had long, wavy brown hair that was up in a pony tail with strands dancing across her face. Her eyes seemed to be green, from what Jack could tell. He even noticed the fact that she had patches of freckles across her face. She was wearing all white too, which made her skin pop out and her body frame. She had a certain look to her like she shouldn't be messed with, but Jack just couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

"Now, who should we pick?" Ethan said while he stared out of the window. Jack didn't even realize that they were done 'loading in the people'. There were only two? Jack turned to Ethan and asked, "Where are the others?"

Ethan shyly looked down and mumbled, "We used to have ten." Jack frowned, asking with a curious voice, "What happened?" Ethan shook his head and uttered, "The vaccine failed... eight times."

Jack let out a sigh, knowing that the vaccine that should have been saving people was actually not doing anything at all. Wanting to chew Ethan out, Jack stood up straight and looked away from the 'restraint room', not willing to look at anybody's face, especially that woman's.

And to think, Jack didn't even remember her crossing his mind. For some reason, he thought she was like everyone else. A citizen of the 'amazing' town he was living in. Instead, she was a test, a human piece of research. Now everything that she said seemed to make sense to him, causing Jack to hold his head in his hands for a moment. Why was this eating at him so much? Jack wanted to get closer to her, wanted to get to know her, become friends, but now- he didn't know. She might be dead before he even knows her name.

"How do you know this vaccine will work?" Jack asked, wondering if Ethan could even give an answer. Ethan shrugged, "I don't. I've been improving since the first, but there's no way to know if works unless, it works."

Jack became quiet, starting to stare into the room. Not able to keep his eyes off of the woman, Jack closed his eyes. In order for the vaccine to work, the patient would have to be exposed to the virus. If the patient didn't get the virus, that meant the person was immune, safe from the disease. If the patient got the disease, the vaccine didn't work and the person would get the disease. Jack sighed at the win-lose situation that always seemed to never prevail.

"Her." Ethan said into a walkie, snapping Jack out his slight daze. Jack looked up into the room while Tom placed his hands on the girl, walking her over to the restraint. Jack frowned, wondering why the woman wasn't fighting back. The black man in background just stayed still, almost like he was stone. Jack could feel himself starting to sweat when Tom unlatched the straps on the huge silver 'man-holder' that the woman just glared up at. What could Jack do? He was going to watch the woman get a dose of who knows what?

Jack watched in silent horror as Tom set the woman against the metal back, first strapping in her feet. She winced slightly, either from the coldness on the skin or the tight way that Tom was holding her in. Jack's eyes began to glare away, forcing himself not to watch the woman about to get held against her own will. Within a minute, she was all ready. Her arms were strapped to the side and her head was held down with a huge metal clasp. Jack looked to his side to Ethan for support, but he was gone.

Before he could glance around the room, Jack saw that Ethan was in the room, looking at the woman who had her eyes closed. Jack could see her mumbling something and Ethan obviously chuckled, making Jack feel like blowing steam. He was about to torture her, and all he could do was laugh?

Ethan pulled out a saringe with an obvious needle at the end of it. Jack's heart skipped a beat, and he could feel adrenaline beginning to pump through him. This just wasn't possible, it had to be a dream, right? This woman, this disease? But it was no dream.

Jack saw Ethan reach over and grab a swap of some sort, wiping it on her arm for some sanitation. Ethan pulled back on the saringe, holding it up in the air and squeezing a stream out of it to make sure it worked. Ethan's fake smile soon faded as he held his hand closer to the woman's arm, aiming the point of the of the needle to go straight through the woman's skin. Second after second, the point got inch by inch closer, causing Jack's stomach to turn.

Jack closed his eyes until he was caused to open them from a loud scream.

"Stop!" Ben's voice screamed through a radio behind Jack. Jack twirled around to see Ben holding the walkie up to his mouth, with his eyes wide and face red with anger. "I thought I told you, Ethan, if you know it's painful, you don't put the lady in first! Get Daniel in there instead. It's his turn. Bring everyone in here too, except you and Daniel, Ethan." Ben let his radio fall to his side with anger while he walked up to the window beside Jack.

Jack looked over at Ben while everyone unstrapped the woman and switched things around. Ben stared politely through as if he was in deep thought, honestly creeping Jack out. Suddenly, Ben spoke with a smooth voice, calming but for some reason, all it did was fire Jack up. "I can't believe you were just going to stand there... doing nothing." Jack widened his eyes at Ben, but Ben didn't flinch. He just kept staring ahead, which made Jack even more angered. But Ben was right. Jack should have done something. But the same thing would happen again, just to someone different.

Minutes later, Daniel, the other human used for research, was strapped in. He was relaxed the whole time, never looking scared or nervous. Tom and the woman walked in from a door on the side, stepping over to stay in the back while Jack and Ben were in the front watching.

While Ethan prepped Daniel with the swab and checking the vaccine, Jack silently glanced back to see Tom and the woman standing side by side. Tom looked like he was expecting something painful. The woman, however, saw Jack's peek and turned her eyes over at him. But her face was the same. Her face was almost like she was disappointed, sad, grief stricken. Jack turned back around, looking at Ethan start to inject the vaccine.

Seconds passed, and Ethan pulled the needle out, leaving the room almost as if he was in a hurry. Moments later, Daniel closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth. His muscles contracted and he looked tense all over his body. Ethan entered the waiting room again and walked over on the other side of Jack. To brake the odd and awkward silence in the room, Ethan said, "He's actually doing pretty well."

Before long, Daniel was screaming, yelling out in pain. Jack was the first to look away, not wanting to see anything. It was hard enough just getting the concept.

Soon, Daniel stopped thrashing around in less than a minute, even though it seemed like hours to Jack. Tom and Ethan walked into the restraint room, leaving Jack alone with Ben and the woman. Ben turned to the woman and said, "You can go, now. You finally get to live alone for a little while." Ben smiled as if it was a joke, but the woman continued her usual scowl. She walked off across the room, briefly glancing at Jack while she walked by. She disappeared out the side door and left Jack and Ben to watch the rest of the procedure.

Tom and Ethan unstrapped Daniel, taking him by both arms. Daniel was obviously weak, but when he realized where he was and where the two of the men were taking him, he threw a fit, bashing his head around and kicking to be free. It was scary, because Daniel was so quiet and collected before, and now he was frightened to death.

"What are they doing?" Jack asked to Ben, who obviously knew the answers to everything.

"They're taking him to the places where we keep the dead, where the virus lives. They'll put him in the room where we've islolated the nasty bug," Ben said, failing to blink or make any movement.

Changing the subject, Jack shook his head in disbelief and pondered, "Why these people? Did they volunteer or something?"

Without a pause or moment of silence, Ben answered Jack's question quickly, "They i made /i the choice to come. They i wanted /i to do this."

Jack looked at Ben, not believing what he said. But Jack didn't know what to believe anymore. "Now what do we do?" Jack asked, crossing his arms as he looked over at Ben.

As usual, Ben didn't move. He continued to stare ahead with no emotion change while he said, "Now we wait."

Hours passed by like seconds Jack thought from that moment on. From what he saw, Ethan advised Jack not to talk with anyone outside of the building, just to be safe. So, to take that information to heart, Jack stayed. When people left for bed, Jack asked if it was okay to stay and they said it was fine.

Jack was hunched over Ethan's desk, drowning in all these papers that meant something entirely different now. 8 people died of the vaccine failing, and there were 8 cases of descriptions. Maybe even nine in a few days...

Having his head in hands, Jack sat still, wanting to just get away. He wanted to help, he really did, but could he? Was he able to figure out what was wrong?

Creeeeeeeeek.

Jack turned around, hearing a door open. There was no one else that should have been there. And it wasn't a door going to outside, it was a door that led to- the other part of the medical facility. Soon Jack could hear footsteps, almost like they were creeping across the floor. Jack kept quiet, but his heartbeat started beating faster as he wondered who the mystery person was.

Seeing the woman's face that haunted his mind appear, Jack let out a breath he was holding, making her stop to realize she wasn't the only one there. "Oops, sorry, I didn't know anyone was here..." the woman said, almost turning around.

Jack shook his head, more glad than anything it wasn't Ben or any other guy that had ruined his innocence that day, "No, that's okay, I'm just staying after... Do you need something?"

The woman stopped from walking away, looking back at Jack. Jack was looking at her, but only her face was visable from the way of tables and boxes on top of them. The woman licked her lips lightly before changing her mind, decided to walk over around the side to see him.

As she came into view, Jack first noticed she was walking barefoot on the cold tile floor. The bottom of her legs were open, since Jack soon realized she was wearing a casual summer dress that went to her knees. Jack blinked a couple times as his eyes scanned up her body. Her hair was down like when they first met, and she crossed her arms over her chest to hug herself from the lack of clothing she was wearing.

Jack turned to face her, standing so he would seem more polite. He was about several inches taller than her. And as he stared down at her, he went over all those specific features he noticed earlier that day. The woman just stared up at him, but instead of the mean and agony filled face, she had a calm and peaceful look to her, almost as if she was smiling.

"Um," her voice broke the awkward silence, "I was wondering if I could get some blankets?" She showed a half smile and looked to her right, so Jack's eyes followed. "Sure, no problem," Jack said in a soft voice, walking over to where her eyes went. They led into cabinets that Jack opened, peeking inside. Not seeing anything, Jack crouched to look on the bottom level. Seeing two shelves, Jack automatically looked through the top one, not seeing anything. "I don't see anything," Jack said without thinking.

Suddenly he felt something move around him. It was the woman, creeping in between him and the cabinet, rummaging though the bottom shelf. Jack was frozen with the woman nudging against him while she searched through the bottom shelf. Soon she squeezed out with a blanket, smiling and letting out a sigh of completion. Jack smiled and laughed a little, wondering if she even realized how she just barged in front of him, invading his space.

She heard the laugh and glanced up at him, almost as if remembering he was there. "Oh, sorry, I saw them." She let out a small laugh and then stood, holding the blanket around her.

Jack closed the cabinet doors and looked over at her and raised his eyebrows, about to start some small talk. "Some day, huh?"

The woman smiled and nodded her head, "You bet." The two briefly stared at each other with smiles, unable to get their eyes off of each other it seemed.

Jack grunted and crossed his arms, showing a confused face. "Why," Jack started to say, obviously getting into the hard stuff, "didn't you tell me?" He wanted to know why she didn't tell him she was a human research doll.

The woman looked at the floor, showing that all to common face she had on earlier. "I figured you'd know soon enough since you're a doctor, so- I thought it'd be better if you found out yourself."

Realizing what Ben said earlier, Jack asked another question, "And what about Ben, saying you i wanted to do this/i "

The woman shook her head in disbelief but had a smile like she knew Ben would say something like that. "He's right," she said, "I did want this. But I picked it over something else. I picked it over something a lot worse."

Puzzled, Jack asked what she meant and the woman replied, "It was either help humanity or- I shouldn't talk about it. I don't i want /i to talk about it... But, how would you know, you know? I'm sure you didn't know about this when they came to you, so we're kinda the same. No one told us the truth."

Jack nodded, understanding why the woman said that. It seemed they were both tricked into doing things they didn't want.

"Well, it's getting kind of late, I guess I'll see you later," the woman said, looking up at Jack shyly. Jack nodded reluctantly, not wanting their second conversation end so quickly.

As she started walking away, Jack bit his bottom lip before calling out rather quietly, "Hey, I'm sorry but, what's your name?"

The woman stopped, turning around with a sweet smile, "Kate."

Jack grinned at hearing her name and paused before he said, "I'm Jack."

Kate let her eyebrows rise while she smirked. In a soft voice that seemed to be etched into Jack's head, Kate gently said, "Goodnight, Jack," and turned around, walking out of the room.

Jack stood still, savoring the moment he just had. It was nothing, he kept telling himself, but he was always thinking about her and when they saw each other. Now he actually had something to look forword to; Kate.


	4. Chapter 4

b u Chapter Four /u /b 

For some reason, that night had been one of the better sleeps of his life. When Jack woke up, he even wondered why he had slept so well when he had such an unforgettable day. It was just too unreal for him to get worked up about it. And it sure ended nicely. He had a pleasant dream, but had no clue what it was about.

Jack made his way to the medical station just outside of the town. There was a pathway to it while it lasted just long enough to get the small town out of view. When Jack made it in, Ethan was already there sitting at his desk and going over papers. "Hey, Jack. How are you?" Ethan had a concerned face, almost as if he was expecting Jack to be melancholy from the previous day.

Showing a smile, Jack shrugged and said, "Fine... Great actually. Slept really well."

Ethan seemed surprised but held it in secretly, moving on to the next subject. "Well, I have a list of things for you to do. I'll need these two rooms for the day mostly so I'll need you check up on them. I give them a medical exam every morning just to be safe and I'm already late on doing that, so do you mind? The chart and instruments are over there" Ethan pointed to over on a table in the room, the one with all of the boxes.

"What's in the boxes?" Jack asked as he walked over, taking hold of the clipboard and paperwork. Ethan glanced up at Jack and seemed different out of no where, "Uh, nothing. Just paper work and stuff like that. Nothing special."

Jack squinted his eyes because he caught the odd tone that Ethan gave, but before he could ask anything else, Ethan changed the subject. "Oh, I forgot, you can't see the man. He's been isolated since he's been exposed. I'll show you how to check him later, you know, the whole sanitation process and all."

Hearing what he said, Jack nodded, glancing back down on the charts. There was even a map to where the 'patients' stayed at and lived. Jack briefly smiled before turning and heading down the hallway, opening the door to the waiting room. Jack glared around for a second, a little surprised things seemed just as the same as the day before. It was quiet and painful. To not relish on the room or the room in front of it, Jack followed the map through a side door. There was a door next to the right, that obviously led into the restraint room and then another hallway. Jack strolled through the hallway, with it becoming darker and darker with each step. At the end, there were two doors. One was open and was obviously a bathroom, one that looked to be average sized.

Jack gently pushed open the other door, peeking inside to see a very small kitchen and laundry system. Knowing he must have been where he wanted, Jack stepped in with skeptical look. Once he was in, he was startled to hear a familiar female voice say, "Hey."

Moving his head to the left, Jack could see there was whole different side. A small living room like area and then a twin bed up against a wall. Kate, the human research project, was laying on the bed glancing up at Jack, fully dressed and wide awake. Jack pushed a small grin on his face and replied back with the same quiet tone, "Hey."

Kate sat up slowly, staying on the bed and brushing locks of her hair out the way of her face. "Come here to take charts? 'Cause you're late."

Jack nodded like he knew what she was talking about, "Yes, I know. Sorry, Ethan put me on the job today."

Kate squinted her eyes at him in a laughable way while teasing him, "First time, huh?"

Getting embarrassed by what she said, Jack slowly walked over to the bed and set down all of the things he was holding. "That obvious?"

Smiling from he said, Kate tried not to chuckle by biting her lip. "Nah, that's okay. I'll help you through it." Hearing that, Jack glimpsed over at Kate from the charts he was looking at and wondered what she meant by it. But when his eyes landed on her, all Jack could do was smile.

"Okay, let's do ears first," Jack mentioned once he grabbed focus again. He took the instrument and walked over, with Kate scooting to her side so it would give Jack an easier read. Jack grinned slightly and then sunk down to her level, placing the ear piece in her ear. Soon enough, it came out with a temperature. "98.8," Jack spoke once he slid it out, with Kate turning her head and looking at him. "I'm always slightly more hot than most people," Kate said with an assured look.

Jack smiled widely and then said without thinking, "I can tell." But the awkward silence didn't come, instead Kate had to ask Jack what to do next. "Eyes?"

Hearing Kate say eyes, Jack smiled since she reminded him, picking up the small medical flashlight. He stepped over towards Kate again, now with her sitting face front. As Jack flipped the flashlight light on, Jack stood over Kate. Her head was tilted back, staring up at him with a subtle smile. Jack inched slightly closer and even hesitated to place his other hand on Kate's face. Slowly, Jack set his hand down on the upper part of Kate's cheek, trying not to smile. As expected, her skin was warm and soft, distracting Jack from doing what he was supposed to be doing. Getting an obvious glance from Kate, as if she was saying get on with it, Jack moved his hand upward, surrounding her eye and then opening it. Flashing the light upon it, Jack stared down at her light green eye. She responded just fine to the test, but Jack was still flashing the light down on her. He finally could tell when he saw Kate blinking, causing him to step back slightly before softly saying he was sorry. He quickly checked the other eye and then flipped the switch off on the flashlight, going back over to her charts.

"Heart beat? Pulse? Blood pressure?" Kate's voice asked as Jack was again caught staring blankly at the papers before him. He smiled nervously and then walked over while Kate held out her right arm. As Jack slowly wrapped the blood pressure reader around her arm, Jack tried to convince Kate of something, "Sorry, I'm not usually this-" Kate raised her eyebrows, watching Jack do his work. "Confused?" She said, finishing his sentence. Jack let out an uneasy laugh, nodding reluctantly, "I guess you could say that. I know how to do it, I've just-" Kate once again explained his own words for him. "I know what you mean. It's different here. Everything is. You'll get used to it. Promise." Jack turned his attention over to her face when she said promise, wondering if it was meant as a joke. Seeing a serious face, Jack too showed a genuine look. She meant what she said.

It took a few minutes for Jack to get her blood pressure, but as usual, it came out nearly perfect. Moving on, Jack asked her to hold out her right arm. Jack place a hand underneath it for support and used his two main fingers on her wrist to find a pulse. After about thirty seconds of silence, Jack had etched it into his mind; leisurely letting his hands let go of her touch.

With the three things she listed checked off, Kate smiled, rolling her eyes playfully, "Just two to go."

Jack shyly looked over at Kate and asked, "Breath rate, right?" Kate showed a mimicking smile along with a nod.

Letting out a happy sigh, Jack took the stethoscope, used to measure air, off from around his neck. He placed the ear pieces in his ear and walked over towards Kate. She gave Jack a shy look before he placed the cold metal side on her chest. Jack tried to stay calm and ask her to breathe in and out slowly. As she did so, Jack listened to the breaths. Usually he would close his eyes, but he was too busy focusing on the motion her breathing made. There was nothing wrong with it, he was just- distracted. He watched as he body rose up, expanding before it slowly went back down. He watched the cycle for about a minute, which was the recommended time frame. But Jack was still listening and watching, almost like he was being hypnotized. Kate snapped him out of it, gently whispering his name, "Jack?" Jack suddenly looked over at Kate's face, too stunned to say anything. He backed away, walking over to the charts again, his safe ground. He measly muttered, "18 breaths per minute..."

Jack raised a hand to his head, rubbing his growing out hair and face. He looked like he was about to leave, when Kate caught him. "Jack? We still have the last thing." Jack frowned, not knowing what she was talking about. He looked over at Kate, who was now lying across the bed. Jack curiously glanced over her, "What thing?" Kate reached down across the bed to the bottom of her shirt, raising it up so that her stomach area was showing. Jack's face felt like dropping, but then he realized what she was doing. "Palpating?" Jack asked, with a pondering tone. Palpating the abdomen wasn't uncommon, Jack just wasn't expecting it. It was used for looking for abnormalities in the abdomen and checking out muscle tone. Wondering why, Jack set down the charts and slowly walked over to Kate; who looked just as nervous as Jack. "I guess this is some disease, huh?" Jack said, knowing it had to deal with the disease some how.

Hesitating, Jack placed his hand on top of each other, slowly placing them down on her stomach. He bit his bottom lip, almost trembling from the touch he felt. Her skin was just as soft and warm, making Jack close his eyes to catch from staring. He gently carried out the test, pressing in certain spots to see if there was anything alarming or unnatural. Getting a clean result, Jack opened his eyes and drew his hands back. He looked at Kate, who was glancing at him. The two stared for a second, seemingly both wanting to say something but too afraid to speak. Kate was the first to do something, rotating around so that it was the base of her back that was showing. She turned her head over to Jack and said with a laugh, "You think you would have to check out my back if it was a back disease, wouldn't you?"

Jack agreed silently and then placed his hands again on her, only on the base of her back. He brushed his hands back and forth, over her spine before dragging his hands upward, even slightly going up her shirt. Jack didn't take his hands off of her skin once, staring down at her again, breathing in and out slowly. Feeling his heart rate speed up, Jack stopped moving his hands, but was too attached to take them off. Confused, Kate looked over at Jack, who seemed to be not looking well all of a sudden. Kate moved to lay on her side, making all of her curves visible to Jack in an instant. Jack's heart jumped to his throat, trying not to make things obvious how she had an effect on him. He was attracted to her, deeply, and it was beginning to get too obvious. "Everything alright?" Kate asked with a concerned look, sitting up and pulling her shirt down.

Taking a step back, Jack shook his head, "I'm just feeling a little- dizzy."

Kate smiled mildly and then scooted over on the bed, "Here, sit down, take a brake."

Jack felt like leaving, felt like grabbing the chart and running. Kate just stared at him, almost as if wondering what he was waiting for. Unable to go against her looks, Jack looked down and then took a seat on the bed next to her. He closed his eyes and then shook his head, "I'm sorry, I'm just... My head's somewhere else."

Kate nodded in an understanding fashion, looking at Jack with an interested look. "You look tense, Jack. Relax a bit." Kate reached over, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Trust me, you need to take a brake," she said with a smile. Pulling him back, she got Jack to sit back against the wall he bed was against. Kate did the same next to Jack, with her back up against the wall like him.

Minutes passed of saying nothing, just breathing and occasional looks and grins. After a while, Jack did start to calm down. The feel of her skin was about gone in his memory and her voice no longer had a hold on him. To start casual talk, Jack asked, "So this is what you do all day? Stay in here?"

Kate looked a bit glad he asked something and shrugged slightly. "Well," she started to say, "some days I do. But most of the time they make me do silly errands. Like that one night, I first met you," the two of them shared a glimpse of each other, "I was getting ice." Both of them laughed lightly.

Continuing with the story, Kate said, "I've been here since October, so I pretty much know my way around." Jack stopped smiling, just wondering how bad it must have been to be there for months after months. He wasn't even there for two weeks yet. Getting slightly intrusive, Kate decided to ask, "So what brings you here, Jack?"

Jack glanced over at Kate, not able to hide the fact that she made him smile. He briefly went over his life story, saying he was a young only child raised in an odd household. He explained how his father was a surgeon and always placed pressure on him. So Jack became one himself and never could really impress his father. He mentioned how his father became a drunk while Jack married a miracle patient he had worked on. Things soon fell apart, Jack described. His wife left him for another man, his father ran off to Australia and Jack was losing all of his friends. Jack said how he found his father and brought him back, saving him from a heart attack.

Kate nodded, but was glad that she got to hear so much from what Jack could see. Out of no where, Kate asked, "So you and your father are close now?"

Jack shook his head. Not thinking about what he was going to say, Jack mumbled, "I killed him."

Those words caught Kate's attention, with her eyes steaming on Jack's face. Jack felt embarrassed, regretful if anything. Now she thought he was some killer. "I was the reason he lost his job. I made him get fired. Then he became a drunk, running off every where he could. So I kept him in my house, out of harm's way. He somehow got in my room and found all the drinks and alcohol I kept in there; drank himself to death."

Kate frowned, "You can't blame yourself for his death, Jack." Jack shook his head, "Why shouldn't I? Everyone else thinks I did it. I think I did it... Haven't you ever been blamed for something you shouldn't have done? Even though you i knew /i it was going to happen no matter what?"

Jack caught Kate's stare. Her stare was cold and mean looking, like the one he saw in the waiting room. But the look had a truth to it, one that calmed Jack enough down to understand. Kate knew what me meant.

Closing his eyes, Jack sat still for a few moments. Unexpectedly, Jack felt the warm touch of Kate's hand on top of his. Opening his eyes to see, Jack looked over at Kate, who was on the verge of crying. She tightened her grip on his hand and he did the same, getting some unknown strength from her grasp. The moment was so peaceful, so real. Jack continued to lock his eyes with Kate's, restraining himself from getting teary or emotional. After a minute of staring in silence, Kate was the first to brake into a smile, gently rubbing his hand. Jack found himself grinning too.

But without warning, her door opened. Jack and Kate shot away from each other like opposite magnets, even though all they were doing was holding hands.

It was Ethan. He had walked in, holding the charts of what seemed Daniel. He saw Jack and Kate on opposite sides of the bed. A little shocked, Ethan said, "There you are, Jack! I was looking all over for you!" Jack said he was sorry and then slid off the bed, grabbing Kate's charts and then walking over to Ethan. Ethan stopped Jack from leaving and then spoke quietly, but in an obviously irritated voice. As Jack heard, he was sure Kate could hear as well while she sat on her bed nervously. "Look, Jack," Ethan started to say, "I know it's hard, but I'd advise you not to get to know these people. They i deserve /i to be here, they don't deserve to be made friends with. Understand?"

Jack forced a quick nod, saying he was sorry again. In a different tone, Ethan said, "Now... he has his first symptom-"

From that moment on, Jack really did work. He was going around the clock for papers to write down about Daniel's fever and sickness. Ethan had gone in several times, into where Daniel was, but it was actually really hard. Ethan had to wear a body suit and sanitize everything before going in to see him. All Jack could do was watch from the outside of a window. Daniel was sweating, lying on a bed in a white room. Ethan constantly took his temperature and took pictures of everything; for Jack mostly. For the rest of the day, Jack was searching through pictures and lab results of Daniel's blood and his charts.

Sunset came before Jack could even go outside again. Ethan came in with his head in his hands. "Damn, I wish there was something we could do." Jack's voice added into Ethan's conversation to himself, saying, "Do you know what he'll get yet?"

Ethan shook his head, taking a seat on the table. "It's too soon..." A long pause entered the room. Soon Ethan hopped off of the table, going over to a cabinet and picking out an orange container of pills. Popping out four, Ethan handed them over to Jack. "I'm sorry to do this, but just give these to them. Two for each. I'm gonna stay here and see if I can make any sense of this. Get working on a new vaccine."

Jack took the pills, almost asking what they were for, but he was too much worried about other things. Taking a map, he headed over to Daniel's area. There was a small chamber that connected his room with the hallway Jack was in. Jack placed the two pills in, calling Daniel over. Daniel reached in and took the pills, plopping them in his mouth. "Thanks, man. Thought I wouldn't get these."

Getting confused, Jack wished the man goodnight and then left to go give them to Kate. Honestly, Jack was afraid to go see her. How awkward would it be?

By the time Jack got there, Jack immediately noticed where she was. She was in her bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. "Oh, hey, Jack. Thought someone would be by."

Jack could feel she knew something he didn't, but he was too scared to ask what the pills were. He was scared about everything these days. He held on to them, walking into the bathroom. "Nice bathroom," Jack muttered with a coy smile on her face.

Kate gently rolled her eyes to be playful, crossing her arms across her chest. "Look Jack, I'm sorry about earlier. It was my fault, I should have never made you stay or talk about your past."

Shaking his head in protest, Jack said, "No, that's okay, Kate." Kate looked away, tapping her foot on the ground as if for something to do. Finally looking up at Jack. "I think Ethan's right," Kate started to say, "we should keep our relationship professional."

Jack felt his insides drop what felt like ten feet. Did that mean no hearty talks? Did that mean all she would be to him was a random woman? Jack couldn't even begin to think how hard anything would be if he couldn't have the same relationship with her again.

But he kept it inside, locking all of his emotions far away. "If that's what you want, Kate, then fine." Jack smiled slightly, causing Kate to give a small glare at him. Oh great, now she was mad at him. She had to be angry at him for grinning, because that even might have crossed the line of 'professional'. Hell, Jack was going to probably kill her in a week if Ethan couldn't think of a good vaccine. It was probably for the best. No one would get hurt.

"Here are the pills," Jack said, holding out his hand for Kate to take them. Kate was looking away, almost as if she was afraid to connect eyes with Jack. Her hand shyly reached forward, holding it out just like his. Jack drifted his hand over hers, slowly letting the pills fall onto the palm of her hand. But they missed.

Jack stared in amazement as Kate's hand jerked away from the pills, letting them crash to the ground. As the sound the pills clicking on the ground multiplied in his head, Jack saw Kate's hands reach up to his face in an instant. Before he could react, Kate was had his head in her hands, lifting herself up at him as she collided her lips onto his.

Taken aback, Jack stood as tense as ever, with his eyes wide open while Kate pulled him down to her level. Naturally, Jack closed his eyes, following Kate's moves to sink down to her height. Kate stepped closer to Jack, pushing his face onto hers while she parted her lips. Jack, unaware at what to do, eventually relaxed within seconds. He tilted his head to the side, brushing his lips against hers. Kate lunged her tongue into Jack's mouth while she massaged his cheek with her fingers, taking her time and adding affection. Jack kissed back with every constant, passionate pulse he received from Kate. The heated kiss lasted less than a minute, but it felt like forever to Jack. Kate finally pulled back, gasping for breaths while she let her hands fall gently from his face.

Jack casually opened his eyes while he felt air again instead of Kate's mouth in front of him. As he panted for breaths, he looked down at her, her eyes almost as shocked as him. She stared up at him, almost in disbelief while Jack did the same. Kate's eyes were locked on Jack's constant moving ones. Jack didn't know what to think, what just happened? She kissed him?

Kate quickly bent down, snatching the pills while Jack stood still, unable to move his eyes away from where Kate was just standing. Leaving as soon as she could, Kate dodged around Jack, leaving the bathroom and bolting to her room before closing the door.

Standing alone in the bathroom, Jack blinked several times and glanced around. The moment caught him by surprise. Jack shook his head and then reluctantly left the scene, too shocked to even confront Kate about it. Jack was tired, so he needed to go to bed. His day was done.


End file.
